Hurricane Olaf rapidly intensified to a Category 4 storm Monday as it continued its march across the Eastern Pacific toward Hawaii. ADVERTISING Hurricane Olaf rapidly intensified to a Category 4 storm Monday as it continued its march across the Eastern
Hurricane Olaf rapidly intensified to a Category 4 storm Monday as it continued its march across the Eastern Pacific toward Hawaii.
However, forecasters say that the storm, which is expected to enter the Central Pacific basin Monday evening, should make a turn toward the north well before reaching the state. Olaf will be the 15th tropical cyclone to impact the basin this year. On average, the Central Pacific annually sees four to five tropical cyclones in its waters. The number of storms has ranged from zero, most recently as 1979, to as many as 11 in 1992 and 1994.
“Regardless (of what Olaf does), we’re still in a hurricane season that has been a record-breaker and has been extremely active,” Central Pacific Hurricane Center Meteorologist Derek Wroe said. “People should pay attention to the forecast because there almost certainly could be more to form.”
Packing 140 mph winds, Olaf was centered about 1,235 miles east-southeast of the Big Island and tracking west at 10 mph as of 5 p.m. Monday, National Hurricane Center forecasters said. Tropical storm-force winds extended outward from the storm’s center up to 140 miles while hurricane-force winds reached outward up to 30 miles.
Olaf, which was expected to peak with 145 mph winds Monday night through Wednesday morning, should continue heading west during the next couple of days before making a turn toward the north, hundreds of miles east of the islands. Forecast models are tightly clustered that the turn will occur far east of the state, said Central Pacific Hurricane Center forecaster Derek Wroe.
“It bears watching, of course, though it is still a ways east,” Wroe said.
Weakening is forecast to begin Wednesday as Olaf moves over cooler waters and encounters southwesterly wind shear. By Friday evening, Olaf is expected to be a Category 1 hurricane packing 90 mph winds situated about 600 miles east-northeast of Hilo.
Behind Olaf, forecasters expect a tropical depression to develop during the next day or two a couple hundred miles southeast of Puerto Escondido, Mexico. Although strong northerly winds were inhibiting development Monday, the area of showers and thunderstorms has an 80 percent chance of become a tropical depression by Wednesday afternoon.
In the Central Pacific, which is where Hawaii is located, no tropical cyclones were expected to develop through Wednesday afternoon, forecasters said at 5 p.m. Monday.
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